WHAT KEEPS YOU FROM GETTING UP

Season One • Episode 12: What Keeps You From Getting Up?

We've all been knocked down by something. Failure. Fear. Loss. Regret. Disappointment. But maybe the greatest question isn't what knocked you down... maybe it's what's keeping you from getting back up.

In this episode of The Tension Where Truth Lives, Pastor Charles Howse explores the obstacles that quietly keep us stuck and reminds us that your setback may explain where you are... but it doesn't have to determine where you're going.

If you've been waiting for the courage to begin again, pull up a chair. This conversation is for you.

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Welcome to The Tension Where Truth Lives. I'm Charles Howes, and I'm really glad you're here. This is season one, episode 12, and today we're talking about something I think we've all felt but don't always know how to say out loud. It's called What Keeps You From Getting Up? If you've ever found yourself on the ground, not because you fell, but because you stayed there longer than you wanted to. I think this conversation is for you. So pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee if you got one. Let's slow down and talk about it for a few minutes. I've been thinking about something. Most of us already know how to fall. Life has made sure of that, you know? Disappointment, failure, divorce, loss, depression, financial hardship, rejection. None of us gets through life without ending up on the ground at some point. We've all been there. So maybe the real question isn't why do people fall? Maybe the better question is what keeps us from getting back up? Have you ever thought about that? I've noticed something over the years. When someone falls physically, most people nearby rush to help, right? But when someone falls emotionally, spiritually, or mentally, they're often left alone with their thoughts. And thoughts can get heavy. A voice begins to whisper, you failed too many times, you've embarrassed yourself, people have moved on. It's too late now. You ever hear that voice? I've discovered something. Sometimes the greatest obstacle standing in front of us isn't standing in front of us at all. It's sitting inside of us. Fear, shame, regret, disappointment. They quietly convince us that staying down is safer than trying again. You feel that? But I've been reading the Bible and I can't find where God ever called someone because they had never fallen. I find Abraham, who doubted, Moses, who questioned himself, David, who failed, Peter, who denied Jesus, Thomas, who struggled to believe. The common thread isn't that they never fell. The common thread is God wasn't finished with them. Think about that for a second. That makes me wonder how many dreams have been buried, not because they died, but because someone stopped getting up. Maybe you're listening today, and your obstacle isn't another person. It isn't your finances, it isn't your age, it isn't your education. Maybe the greatest battle you're fighting is believing you still have permission to begin again. Here's something that's been helping me. Your setback may explain where you are, but it doesn't have to determine where you're going. One difficult chapter doesn't have the authority to write the rest of your story. The same God who was with you before you fell is still with you while you're getting back up. So what's keeping you down, not what knocked you down? What is keeping you there? Because those are two different conversations. One looks backward, the other determines your future. Which one are you having right now? Maybe today you don't need to run. You don't need to have all the answers. Maybe today you just need to get up. One step, one prayer, one phone call, one application, one act of faith. Sometimes the hardest step you'll ever take is the first one after you've fallen, but it may also become the beginning of the greatest comeback of your life. I'm Charles Howes, and I've been thinking about that. Let's continue the conversation. Because I think we need to be honest about something. Getting up isn't just about trying harder. If trying harder worked, you would have already done it. Most people who are down aren't lazy. They're tired. There's a difference. Tired from carrying something for a long time. Tired from pretending they're okay. Tired from starting over and having to explain it again to people who didn't check on them when they fell. So when I say get up, I'm not talking about hype. I'm not talking about pretending. I'm talking about permission. Who told you that you lost your permission to begin again? Was it a person? Was it a failure? Was it a voice in your own head that sounds a lot like you, but a lot meaner than you? Think about that, because that voice is powerful. I talk to a lot of people who can tell me exactly what knocked them down. They remember the date, the conversation, the phone call, but they struggle to answer this. What has kept you down since then? That's the deeper work. Because what knocked you down was an event. What keeps you down is often a belief. The belief that says, people like me don't recover from this. The belief that says, I had my chance. The belief that says, if I try again and fail again, I won't survive the disappointment. Can we challenge that for a minute? Because fear doesn't just stop you from failing, it stops you from healing. Shame doesn't just remind you that you fell, it tries to convince you that you are the fall. And regret is tricky. Regret replays the past on a loop, but it never lets you rewrite it. It just keeps you watching. I wonder how many of us are sitting in a story that has already changed, but we haven't given ourselves permission to turn the page. You know what I love about God? He doesn't wait until you're standing to stand with you. He sits with you on the floor. Psalm 34 says, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, not close to the perfect, not close to the polished, close to the brokenhearted. That means if you're broken right now, you're not far from God. You're right where he does his closest work. So getting up doesn't start with strength. It starts with honesty. God, this is where I am, this is what I'm feeling, this is what I'm afraid of. You don't have to dress that prayer up. Just say it. And then you get up the way anyone gets up after a real fall, not all at once. You get up in inches, you make the bed, you take a walk. You open the Bible you haven't opened in months, even if you only read one verse. You send the text, you keep avoiding. You forgive yourself for not doing this perfectly. You know what keeps a lot of people from getting up? They think it has to be impressive. It doesn't. It just has to be honest. Don't compare your getting up to someone else's highlight reel. Their comeback and your comeback don't have to look the same. One step is still a step, and one step in the right direction after a fall is still progress. Don't disqualify it because it's small. I've learned something about momentum. You don't need momentum to take the first step. You get momentum because you took the first step. So what's one thing you can do today? Not five things, not next month. Today. Maybe it's calling that counselor. Maybe it's applying for that job, even though you feel underqualified. Maybe it's apologizing first. Maybe it's going back to church, even though you feel like everyone will look at you. They won't, by the way. Most people are too worried about themselves to be thinking about you as much as you think. Maybe it's just getting out of bed and saying, God, I still trust you, even though I'm tired. That counts. That counts more than you know. And let me say this, because somebody needs to hear it. You're not behind. You're not disqualified, you're not too old, and it's not too late. Moses was 80 when God called him to do the biggest thing of his life. Abraham was old when the promise started. Peter had already denied Jesus and still preached the first sermon that changed history. Your age, your past, your record doesn't cancel your future. God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called, and he still does. So if the enemy can't destroy you, he'll try to distract you. And if he can't distract you, he'll try to discourage you into staying down. Because a discouraged person who stays down never becomes a threat to darkness. But you getting up, even tired, even shaky, even with questions, that matters. That shifts things in your house, in your family, in your future. Don't stay down because you fell. Everybody falls. Staying down is a decision. And so is getting up. So I'm going to ask you again what is keeping you there? And what's one small, brave step you can take today to get up? You don't have to know step 10. You just have to take step one. God will meet you there. I'm Charles House, and I've been thinking about that. And I'm praying that today you get up, even if it's slow, even if it's small, get up. Let's keep talking. That's our time for today. Thank you for sitting with me in this tension. I know this one was personal. It was for me too. If this episode helped you, would you do me a favor? Share it with one person, just one, someone who might need permission to begin again. And if you haven't already, follow the podcast wherever you listen so you don't miss what's coming next in season one. I want you to hear this before you go. You are not finished. Your story is not over. One chapter does not get to write the rest. So today, take that one step, one prayer, one call, one act of faith. God will meet you there. I'm Charles Howes. This is the tension where truth lives, and I'll see you next time. Let's continue the conversation.